WHY THE RED SEA IS CALLED THE “RED SEA”?

WHY THE RED SEA IS CALLED THE “RED SEA”?

PROF WAQAR HUSSAIN

     Why it is called the Red Sea? There are numerous hypotheses hovering over without certainty.

1) The red sea water contains red coloured cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium erythraeum) which turn the blue-green water to a reddish-brown. 

2)The “Red Sea” is in fact “Sea of Reed”,( a tall slender leaved plant of the grass family growing in water or marshy area.) most likely due to the reeds of the Gulf of Suez.

3) In the Bible, Moses walked across what was known as the 'sea of reeds'. The Red Sea is simply an alternative name for 'Sea of Reeds'. Some believe that the name Red Sea came from a “mistranslation” of what should have been the Reed Sea in the Biblical story of the Exodus. The Sea of Reeds (in Hebrew Yâm-Sûph) is often mistranslated as the "Red Sea". 

4) A hypothesis favoured by modern scholars is that the name “red” refers direction of “South” just as the Black Sea refers to “North”. Sea’s located south of the Mediterranean world. In ancient languages, the colours black, red, green, and white referred to North, South, East, and West, respectively. Herodotus (a Greek historian who lived 484-425 BC) on one occasion uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably.

5) Some believes that Red Sea is named because red algae cover surface of water.

6) Other says that Red Sea is called due to reddish ting of surrounding mineral rich red hills, Harei Edom (Edom means red).

7) Hebrew word for South Palestine is Edom meaning red. The Red Sea splits into two at its northern end into the Gulf of Suez, and the Gulf of Aqaba. The name originally applied to the Gulf of Aqaba, which bordered the land of Edom, which means "red".

8) Yet another says it's from the colour of the setting sun over the water.

9) Some historians believe the Red Sea is named for the Himyrites, a group who once lived along its shores. A local group whose own name means "red”.

10) Another view about its name is due to the colour of the coral in the sea. Coral is substance like rock formed in the sea by a group of small animals (marine invertebrates), often used in jewellery. It has colour between orange and pink.

CONCLUSION

Red sea is one of the famous seas of the world. The ancient Egyptians were the first to explore it in 2500 BC while seeking commercial route to southward. It is lying between Africa and Asia with length of 2250km, maximum width 355 km and average depth of 1608 km. It houses 1000 invertebrate species. It joins Arabian Sea with Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. It is the shortest route to Europe. It cut 5500 miles (8800km) distance from the United Kingdom to India when the Suez Canal was opened in 1869.Thus it provided easy way to approach India and other southern colonies and European made best of this opportunity and grabbed colossal economic benefits and made their countries prosperous and reddened their faces. On the other hand, they shed blood to maintain their hold on the captivate countries. So there was red on the western side as well as on eastern side through the courtesy of shortest route of The Red Sea. When all is red on either side of the sea so it is aptly called the Red Sea.